The present invention is concerned with the tapping of groundwater, and more particularly with a method and apparatus for this purpose.
The invention is not directed to deep wells, i.e. those having a depth which is usually in excess of thirty or forty meters. Instead, the invention is concerned with shallow wells, i.e. those deriving their water from water-bearing ground strata up to a depth of about ten meters, i.e. from essentially the upper water-bearing strata.
Such shallow wells are, of course, well known. To produce them it is widely customary to ram a pointed metal (usually iron) tube into the ground and to apply suction to the tube so as to draw water up through the same. The problem with these wells is that there is no way of knowing just how deep the point of the tube must be inserted into the ground to assure its optimal positioning with reference to the water-bearing stratum. Also, the actual manufacture is rather expensive and since the entire well system (i.e. including the pump and conduits) is subject to suction such wells tend to fill up quite quickly and become completely or partially disfunctional.